suggestions of things to grow in an allotment

hi i live in England,and have just got an allotment,i have planted potatoes ,onions brussel sprouts,white and purple sprouting broccoli , runner beans and peas,getting some sweet corn from the garden centre tomorrow...any ideas what else(something a little more exotic,that will grow in this country)

Zucinni, peppers and tomatoes.

Might try some of the edible squashes as well.

Add in a big pumpkin or two for halloween.

reply to [url=http://www.belowtopsecret.com/forum/thread463969/pg1#pid6319266]post by badgerprints

hi thanks for replying.
i have a row of tomatoes in ,hopefully we will not have any more frosts
tried to grow squash, seeds have been in for over three weeks (nothing yet.
zucinni, never heard of them,will get a plant or two if there are any in garden centre.

Jalapeno peppers! They grow anywhere!

As do green beans and you can plant those almost year round.

reply to post by illece

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Hey...try this company. I bought heirlooms from them, and they're really good quality. Almost all the stuff I've planted has come up. And you can save your own seed from these ones too for next year. These people really know their stuff.

www.realseeds.co.uk...

reply to post by caitlinfae

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thanks tentickles,
got green beans growing,not sure what jalapeno peppers are ,unless there what we in England call bell , or sweet peppers

and also thanks to caitlinfae.
i will have a look at the company you have directed me to,i like the idea of being able to keep the seed for next year

Congratulations on getting an allotment! Did you have much of a wait to get one?

How about some salad crops? Rocket, cos lettuce, curly leaf endive, spinach etc will grow very easily and give you a daily supply.

I can thoroughly reccommend the real seed catalogue as linked by a previous poster. Browsing their site should give you some inspiration and ideas.

Zuchini are a summer squash - courgettes.
Regarding your squash, mine havent germinated yet either! Its just not warm enough for them yet, but don't give up them, and don't over water them as they can rot before germinating if they sit in cool damp soil for too long.

reply to post by Paul

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Hi and thanks for your post.

Had to wait about six months,a lot of people from the estate got together and bought a piece of land ,those who only wanted a small piece of the land(this was most of them) are happy to rent to us others.
been browsing real seeds it looks really interesting,will definitely be ordering from them next year!!

Set some of the usual veg ,but its taking a lot longer to get rig of the twitch(couch grass) than to do anything else ....hopefully the potatoes will help to clear that area when they are dug up.

I have got to back this up... Realseeds.co.uk is fantastic... All non hybrid... i ALWAYS get my seed from them plus they give you tips on how to save seeds.

One thing I would recommend is rotation... even on a small plot... This is because Beans and peas (legumes) put nitrogen nodules into the soil so, if you also use your own compost, you will never need to buy plant feed or fertiliser again

On a larger scale rotation also helps to minimise pests and disease.

I also encourage beneficial wildlife to my garden like Ladybirds, Ground Beatles, Hedgehogs, Toads and Bees. I use no pesticides at all (would rather lose a crop) and no artificial fertilisers/feeds.

I had a good harvest this year...

Potaotes
French Beans
Courgettes (Zuchini)
Tomatoes
Carrots (lost to Carrot fly but will combat this next year by raising the bed and covering with screen)
Parsnips
Cabbage
Onion
Strawberries (although I didn’t get many and managed to eat the few I got by picking at them when in the garden)

For the winter season i am now growing...
Winter Savoy cabbage
Peas
Japanese Kale
Chard
All of these can be sown in September and will happily grow through winter. The cabbage is under poly tunnels and should be ready by January.

The other half of my plot is resting.

"exotic". What about some herbs ?

It's not complicated at all. The Rosemary is a tiny bush. It may survive winther, but i would not count on it. The leaves from the "Pineapple" salvia is the final "flash" for any cake.

Herbs grow as well in containers...


"Annual" :

Dill
Basil
Rosemary
Marjoram
Salvia Elegans ("Pineapple")


"Perennial" :

Lavender
Isop
Chives also usefull as a "mini fence"
Origanum (green, white, golden)
Salvia (green, Tricolor, purple)
French Estragon
Melissa
Thymus (Green, white, golden)

Source : me and my "experiences"

[edit on 28-11-2009 by flymetothemoon]

Rosemary will survive the winter fine... although it is a particularly cold night you could always cover the bush (something I’ve never had to do)

I’ve got two Rosemary bushes that i take cuttings from each year... once the cutting have taken i give them to friends and family.

That im afraid was not my luck. But as you say, we can take cuttings. That's the tecnic we used with good results, the +2 years i made a living out of working with herbs. I find the Rosemary beautiful. and it tastes wonderful

[edit on 29-11-2009 by flymetothemoon]

I'm just a bit curious about the term "allotment".

In Canada it would be a financial term referring to a set amount of money taken from your pay to be sent to someone else, or a portion you are allowed to have of something like rationed supplies.

I understand it means a patch of land to you, but how much land is it ?
And is land so scarce you need to apply somewhere to grow a bit of food ?

The standard allotment plot is traditionally about 250 sq metres, but plots come in various sizes these days from 100 to over 500 sq m. Allotments are usually municipally run, and you can rent them from the local council...if you're lucky. There are waiting lists in pretty much every area.

With over 60 million people crammed onto this island, land is pretty scarce and comes at a premium. Most houses come with very little land - a typical back garden in a modern urban/suburban house is no more than 100sq m.